Nagayama Keiichiro looked up toward the sound.
The Boy named Da Yong stood before Nagayama Keiichiro with a distorted face.
His right arm was gone, the wound plugged with some kind of mucus.
The Boy's eyes were bloodshot, and his neck, arms, and stomach were covered in wounds from explosion fragments. Half of his cheek had been scorched by the explosion's flames and was now a bloody mess.
"I, won." The Boy curled his lips into a smile, pulling at the muscles on both sides of his face.
From the mangled side of his face, a mixture of red and white pus flowed out, looking like a pile of rotten meat on his face.
"Both at the Origin Point level, the order side is too weak."
The Boy spoke haltingly. His mouth was full of small holes, just like that mutant, and the holes were packed with tiny black bugs.
"Do you know, sir," he grinned eerily, "I still have a Grandpa."
Nagayama Keiichiro looked up in despair.
A massive Shadow loomed over him, and everything went pitch black.
————Tsukisa is shopping————
Usami Reiko stood on the street corner, frowning as she made a phone call. Behind her was the famous and bustling Ginza.
Under the night sky, her jeans hugged her long, straight legs, and her long white knit sweater was printed with a stag.
Her sharp, short hair didn't make her look cute; instead, it made her look exceptionally capable.
She paced on the crowded street, trying to get through to her fiancé's phone.
"Reiko, it's really bad timing. A mission came up suddenly, it's a lost Child. The Captain and I suspect he's carrying the aura of 'that thing,' so I might call you very late tonight. Wait for me, Reiko, and make sure to eat well! Love you! Kenichi."
This was the last message Yoshino Kenichi had sent, and it was already three hours ago.
"Is it still not over?"
"Kenichi?"
"Where are you? Why is your phone off?"
The woman dialed the number anxiously, but her fiancé, who claimed he would never turn his phone off for her, had for the first time failed to answer her call.
The colorful neon lights flashed, and various luxury stores with their doors wide open played soft piano music, while a nearby arcade blared loud, rhythmic music.
Usami Reiko felt as if she were standing on the dividing line between Yin and Yang.
She stared down at her phone screen, as if she might receive a reply like 'Ha! Just finished drinking, it's a victory party!' at any moment.
The pedestrians passing by in a hurry all became blurred, drifting past her like shadows, like waves parted by a breakwater.
Then, a message indeed popped up on the screen.
Only the sender was not Yoshino Kenichi.
"Reiko.
Something happened to Nagayama Keiichiro and Yoshino Kenichi.
Two hours ago, the support team received a signal. By the time they arrived... it was too late.
The scene is a ruin.
We found half of Keiichiro's arm—
And Kenichi's... skull fragments.
The specific situation is still under investigation. Preliminary analysis suggests the attacker was a Ritualist from the Chaos side.
Reiko, my condolences.
Sakai Takashi."
Usami Reiko looked up blankly, the moon reflected in the deep blue sky.
Overhead LED screens blared gaudy ads while crowds pressed in on every side—shouts, laughter, wild costumes, long skirts drifting away and shoes hurrying past.
Young men and women walked side by side, their excited eyes shining.
Usami Reiko looked like a pauper clutching coins from a bygone era, unable to buy a single thing in this one.
Worse, what she wanted to buy was hope.
That commodity is never sold to the desperate poor.
Clack.
Her phone hit the ground; a girl brushing past had bumped her.
'I'm so sorry.'
Sen Getsusa, hugging the new sheets she'd bought for Yuno Gasai, turned and glanced down.
'Your phone… I knocked it out of your hand, didn't I?'
Sharp heels clicked across the flagstones; the pale tops of Getsusa's feet showed fine blue veins.
She bent, retrieved the phone, and saw a fracture running its full length.
She looked at the damage and reached for her wallet to pay for it.
Across from her the woman stood frozen, staring.
'Dead,' she murmured.
'Sorry—what happened?' Getsusa asked, brow creasing. The stranger looked stunned, her whole face blank.
The river of pedestrians parted around the two motionless women, some casting curious glances; they were like stones breaching a stream, fish flowing hurriedly past.
'Let's sit over here.' Getsusa gently took Reiko's cold hand and led her to a bench.
She'd worn simple wine-red heels—something she rarely did—and after hours of walking she was tired.
Seated, she crossed slim legs, hiding what lay beneath her skirt, and turned to Reiko, whose face was already wet with tears.
'You—'
'Don't worry about the phone. Could you stay and talk a while?'
Reiko spoke, smoothing her short hair, accepting the tissue Getsusa offered and wiping her eyes.
'Call me Reiko.'
'Sen Getsusa.' She tapped her own chest.
Reiko managed a stiff smile, then continued, voice breaking: 'I'm so sorry to trouble you, Miss Getsusa. My fiancé just died. I—I can't…'
Getsusa brushed Reiko's hand, quieting her.
'No need to apologize, Reiko. I'm sorry for your loss. Wandering around like this, you could get hurt.'
Reiko bit her lip, crushing the broken phone in her fist.
'We'd known each other so long, the wedding was days away… why?'
She hid her face and sobbed, hoarse and hopeless, her skin turning ashen.
Reiko was screaming inside without a sound.
Getsusa said nothing, one hand holding hers, the other gently patting down her spine.
No one noticed; few would ever realize that two Mortals' deaths had multiplied grief for many more.
Getsusa stayed until the square had cycled through several waves of couples and songs, until Reiko finally calmed.
The tears stopped, leaving only dry eyes and empty pupils.
Reiko thanked her, they exchanged numbers, and she walked from the noisy square like a ghost.
Getsusa watched the capable woman leave, then lifted her own bags and set off in her wine-red heels.
She didn't probe the story; every minute the World loses people—some gloriously, some shamefully, some for no reason at all.
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